Tafsir of Surah Al-Anbiya' - Verse 92

Mankind is One Ummah

إِنَّ هَـذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً

(Truly, this, your Ummah is one,) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Qatadah and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said, "Your religion is one religion." Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: "In this Ayah, Allah explains to them what they should avoid and what they should do." Then He said:

إِنَّ هَـذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً

(Truly, this, your Ummah is one religion,) "Meaning, your path is one path. Certainly this is your Shari`ah (Divine Law) which I have clearly explained you." So Allah says:

وَأَنَاْ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُونِ

(and I am your Lord, therefore worship Me.) This is like the Ayah:

يأَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُواْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَـتِ وَاعْمَلُواْ صَـلِحاً

(O (you) Messengers! Eat of the Tayyibat (good things) and do righteous deeds.) Until His saying,

وَأَنَاْ رَبُّكُمْ فَاتَّقُونِ

(And I am your Lord, so have Taqwa of Me.) 23:51-52 The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«نَحْنُ مَعَاشِرَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ أَوْلَادُ عَلَّاتٍ دِينُنَا وَاحِد»

(We Prophets are brothers from different mothers and our religion is one.) What is meant here is that they all worshipped Allah Alone with no partner or associate, although the Laws of each Messenger may have differed, as Allah says:

لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَـجاً

(To each among you, We have prescribed a Law and a clear way) 5:48

وَتَقَطَّعُواْ أَمْرَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ

(But they have broken up and differed in their religion among themselves.) meaning, the nations were divided over their Messengers; some of them believed in them and some rejected them. Allah says:

كُلٌّ إِلَيْنَا رَجِعُونَ

((And) they all shall return to Us.) meaning, `on the Day of Resurrection, when We will requite each person according to his deeds. If they are good, then he will be rewarded and if they are evil then he will be punished.' Allah says:

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّـلِحَـتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ

(So whoever does righteous good deeds while he is a believer,) meaning, his heart believes and his deeds are righteous.

فَلاَ كُفْرَانَ لِسَعْيِهِ

(his efforts will not be rejected. ) This is like the Ayah:

إِنَّا لاَ نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلاً

(certainly We shall not make the reward of anyone who does his deeds in the most perfect manner to be lost.) 18:30 which means, his efforts will not be wasted; they will be appreciated and not even a speck of dust's weight of injustice will be done. Allah says:

وَإِنَّا لَهُ كَـتِبُونَ

(Verily, We record it for him.) means, all his deeds are recorded and nothing of them at all is lost.

Commentary

So far the Surah deals with the stories of the prophets and several basic as well as minor principles relevant to those stories. The basic beliefs such as Oneness of God, prophethood and the day of Resurrection are common to all prophets and are the foundation of their invitation to the people to follow the True Faith.

God has sent all prophets with the same religion, namely, one according to which the one and only God should be one’s God and that He alone should be worshipped. Had people been steadfast in this original religion, all of them would have continued as one Community (ummah). But, people on their own started entering into disputes and thus concocted different versions of the same religion. Individuals exercised their ‘right’ to choose whatever religion best suited their interests. Thus one religion came to be divided into many religions. To God, faith and deeds have importance only when they signify true realization of Him and true obedience to Him. Anything other than these will not be appreciated by God, however much the individuals themselves may attach value to them.